ATU GALWAY-MAYO

Science And Computing

Public Health Nutrition Degree at ATU Galway

Accredited by the Association for Nutrition

ATU Science graduate, Colette Collins, from Mayo, won the 2022 SURE Network Award for Best Oral Presentation, at the Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Network Conference.

In October 2021, Colette completed a research project entitled “Exploring the Relationship between the Menstrual Cycle and Markers of Physical Performance in Inter-County Ladies Gaelic Football Players”. Colette, who graduated in 2022 with her BSc (Hons) in Sport & Exercise Science, recruited 20 Inter-County players during the pre-season training phase for this month-long study. Two distinct phases of the menstrual cycle were subsequently identified, the early follicular phase (day 1-5) and the mid-luteal phase (20-25).

The participants were tested during these two phases; via a 20m sprint test and a maximal jump height test. Overall, the participant’s sprint time decreased in the early follicular phase in comparison to the mid-luteal phase with no difference in jump height observed.

SciFest took place in ATU Galway City campus on Thursday May 11th with around 200 students presenting their projects on physical sciences, life sciences, and technology.

SciFest is an accessible and inclusive science fair that gives second level students an opportunity to explore the scientific method from observation to result and to present their work to third level and industry-based judges.

SciFest’s main objective is to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education as a forum for students at local/regional/national level to present and display their scientific investigations.

Huawei's “Seeds for the Future” ICT talentnurturing initiative awarded €250k in academic scholarships to 50 third-level STEM students in Ireland in 2022.

One of the winners was Christoph Brink, a 2nd year Physics student from ATU Galway City.

“My experience with the Seeds for the Future programme was fantastic.” said Christoph.

“It was great being among peers that were highly motivated, engaged and passionate, I truly felt like I was able to contribute meaningfully to the project with my own skillset, meanwhile I could trust my team-mates to look out for each other.

I think the stand-out experience has to be the Tech for Good project, we made a slide-deck for a recycling app "Toss It" that would incorporate machine learning and provide useful information on what products and materials could be recycled, where the nearest recycling centre is, and gamifying the experience to build good recycling habits.”

€5,000 bursaries were awarded to 50 students, of which 40% were female, from DCU, UCD, University of Galway, UCC, Trinity College Dublin, TU Dublin, UL, MTU, ATU Galway City, South-East Technological University and Maynooth University.

Breaking Barriers: ATU Student Makes History as First Medical Science Representative in All-Ireland Challenge

ATU Medical Science student Éilish McDonnell was the first Medical Science student ever to participate in the All-Ireland Interprofessional Healthcare Challenge (AIPEC), hosted by

University of Galway on Friday 24th March.

AIPEC is an extracurricular competition for university students across all health disciplines, aimed to develop key skills in collaborative and effective teamwork across healthcare professionals.

Éilish McDonnell is a third-year Medical Science student at ATU, Galway City who is currently on clinical placement and joined the University of Galway/Saolta team along with students from Medicine, Nursing, Social Care, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.

Teams from across Ireland’s Universities were tasked with presenting their management plan of a client with complex needs, demonstrating their expertise in teamwork and collaboration. It was a close competition with exceptional presentations from all. University of Dublin were crowned winners on the day.

To learn more about our Medical Science degree, check out atu.ie/au671

The successful students were selected based on their performance during this year’s initiative which took place online in October. Now in its eighth year, the 2022 Seeds for the Future programme received almost 500 applications. In total, there are 88 graduates of which 31 are female students.

To learn more about our Physics and Instrumentation degrees, check out atu.ie/au675 (Level 8) and atu.ie/au575 (Level 7)

“Qualitatively, all players reported experiencing menstrual cycle symptoms and 50% believed that these symptoms affected their playing performance. A qualitative survey analysis highlighted the lack of player awareness or understanding of the potential impact of the menstrual cycle on sport.” said Collette.

“The findings of this study indicated that women’s health should be considered during formal reviews of athlete performance and strategies should be implemented to encourage more open communication between coaches and their athletes.”

She was one of 61 students from six HEIs to present their research projects to an audience of 400 final-year undergraduate students.

To learn more about our Level 8 degree in Sport and Exercise Science, visit atu.ie/au662

Science Labs Achieve “My Green Lab” Sustainability Certification

The ATU Galway City campus has been awarded “My Green Lab” certification in recognition of trojan work by staff and students in making all teaching science laboratories on campus more sustainable.

“My Green Lab” certification is an international gold standard for best practice in laboratory sustainability which is recognised in the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign as a key achievement in working towards a zero-carbon future.

Sustainable laboratory practices are key to preparing graduates who are sustainability-literate, environmentally conscious and capable of using green solutions in their future employment.

A dedicated team of staff and students worked towards improving laboratory practices in all the teaching laboratories across ATU Galway’s School of Science & Computing.

Aileen Gill, Green Labs and Chemistry Technician at ATU Galway City says:

“We have reduced our use of energy, water and plastics across all our labs. For example, we have reduced single-use plastic cuvettes by 75% following a pilot study demonstrating that cuvettes could be reused in chemistry practical's without affecting experimental results”.

Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU, says:

“Sustainability is very much to the fore in ATU, and the “My Green Lab” certification reflects the hard work of our staff and students in addressing sustainability goals on our campuses.”

Students can win a wide array of awards and the student that wins Best Project also has the opportunity to compete at a National and International level.

This year, Angelina O’Neill from Presentation College Headford was awarded the Best Project Award for her project "Comparing progression to STEM courses and careers between all girls and co-educational schools".

Diving Deep into Discovery: Celebrating 50 Years of Freshwater and Marine Biology at ATU

The BSc (Hons) in Public Health Nutrition at Atlantic Technological University, Galway, was awarded accreditation by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) in April 2023.

It is a mark of professionalism and indication of quality, assuring potential employers that graduates from an AfN accredited degree programme have covered relevant competencies and are bound by Standards of Ethics, Conduct and Performance.

The AfN governs the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN) and ATU Galway graduates can apply for direct entry to the UKVRN as Registered Associate Nutritionist.

The programme helps graduates stand out in the jobs market for a variety of roles in health promotion and public health nutrition as well as opportunities in food and nutrition-related industries such as research, product development, food safety, regulation, consumer information and marketing. Dr Evelyn Hannon Linnane, a registered public health nutritionist and programme chair of ATU Galway City's Public Health Nutrition programme said “We are delighted to receive our AfN accreditation. This is a practical-based course, grounded in science, designed to fully prepare graduates to make a strong impact in the workforce.”

Further details on the BSc (Hons) in Public Health Nutrition degree can be found at atu.ie/au663 some aspects before starting the course. There is a great balance between practical labs and lecturers. I’m not a fan of big, long essays, I love the practical nature of our projects and creating apps.

Freshwater and Marine Biology has been taught at ATU Galway City for 50 years.

Incoming first year students join a community of almost 300 staff and students studying and researching Freshwater and Marine Biology. Students benefit from the applied nature of the degrees featuring extensive practical and fieldwork, as well as a work placement. Many graduates go on to work in a range of roles in marine and freshwater ecology.

Students who opt for further study can complete postgraduate degrees in ATU such as the MSc in Conservation Behaviour, or the MSc in Applied Marine Conservation.

ATU also provides research opportunities for PhDs in the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre at ATU Galway City campus with a community of more than 30 PhD students and 38 academic and research staff.

For more informaion on our Applied Freshwater and Marine Biology degrees, go to atu.ie/au655 (Level 8) and atu.ie/au555 (Level 7)

Mary McDonnell is a current 2nd year student of the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computing in Software Development, and a past pupil of St. Cuans College, Castleblakeney Co. Galway . We asked Mary about her time studying at ATU Galway and her future plans.

Why did you choose to study Software Development in ATU Galway?

Initally, I was unsure of what I wanted to study in college. I heard this course was great and that a degree in computing could advance me into many career choices.

What are your favourite modules?

Anything in the computer labs, probably procedural programming, where you learn different languages that create different types of effects for the projects you design.

I also enjoy the math's modules.

What did you enjoy most about the course?

That the lecturers teach everything from scratch, and I wasn’t expected to know

Advice for anyone interested in studying this degree?

If you have an interest in this degree, go for it! It's interesting and diverse, you get so much support from your lecturers. The small class sizes really help in making friends too.

What career path do you hope to follow after graduating?

I’m not sure of my career path yet as there are many possibilities; I would like to see myself working in a software company in Ireland after graduation, with lots of opportunity to travel too. Technology is advancing with such speed that the job I could go into in a few years may not exist yet!

Learn about our Computing in Software degrees on atu.ie/au676 (Level 8), atu.ie/au576 (Level 7)